# deer-flow vs Shlink

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | deer-flow | Shlink |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 86/100 ✓ | 70/100 |
| Rank in category | #5 of 209 in AI Agents | #3 of 23 in URL Shortener |
| GitHub stars | 84 615 ✓ | 5 381 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 667 ✓ | +78 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 13 ✓ |
| Latest release | v2.1.0 · 24 Sept 2026 | v5.1.8 · 21 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Main language | Python | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

deer-flow scores 86/100 against 70/100 for Shlink, so it is the safer default.

Shlink ships more often: 13 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for deer-flow.

If you want the quickest setup, Shlink is easier to run; deer-flow needs more configuration.

deer-flow is growing faster right now (+1 667 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [deer-flow](https://selfhost.directory/project/deer-flow) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/deer-flow.md)
- [Shlink](https://selfhost.directory/project/shlink) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/shlink.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/deer-flow-vs-shlink